And so, the simulation began.
This time, Liu Yang took the initiative to search the entire residential compound.
The development consisted of 45 villas and 10 high-rise residential towers.
The 45 villas were spread out and sparsely populated-there wouldn't be many survivors, nor many zombies.
However, the 10 high-rise towers housed at least several hundred households, with a total population of no less than 1,000 residents.
At least 700 of them had likely turned into zombies.
As for the rest, even if they had survived the initial outbreak, many had probably been devoured since.
The infection rate was simply too high.
It exceeded two-thirds.
In a typical family of three, two members were likely to turn into zombies. Even if the remaining person stayed uninfected, how could a normal human take on two zombies at once?
They would ultimately end up as food.
Therefore, there were bound to be very few survivors in the high-rise towers.
Because of this, Liu Yang set his primary focus on the villa area.
Each villa stood four stories tall.
Even if two out of three family members turned into zombies, as long as they weren't on the same floor, anyone upstairs stood a decent chance of avoiding being eaten. The likelihood of finding survivors there was much higher.
Liu Yang decided to sweep the villas for survivors first, then lock the main entrances of the high-rise towers from the outside, trapping the zombies inside to starve to death.
He started his search at Villa 1.
This simulation wasn't meant for an immediate rescue mission. He simply wanted to tally which villas contained survivors and which harbored zombies. Once he had a clear picture, his actual run would be far more efficient and targeted.
Villa 1 was completely deserted.
The front door hung wide open. The owners had either left it unlocked when the apocalypse broke out, or the survivors had burst out and fled when the outbreak hit.
The house was stripped bare.
No zombies, no survivors, no food-nothing at all.
Liu Yang moved on to Villa 2.
Inside were two zombies, along with a brutally gnawed corpse sprawling on the floor.
Clearly, a family of three had lived here. Two had turned, and the remaining survivor had been devoured by their own transformed family members.
Judging by the frame, the corpse belonged to a little girl.
Her parents had likely turned while she remained normal, only for her to be eaten alive by them in the end.
Even Liu Yang felt a chill watching the scene.
Parents were supposed to love and protect their child above all else, yet the moment they turned into zombies, every shred of humanity vanished. They wouldn't hesitate to tear their own flesh and blood apart.
This virus truly turned people into mindless, emotionless monsters.
The instant they were infected, they were already dead.
Liu Yang raised his fire axe and split the heads of both the male and female zombies.
A mercy killing to grant them peace.
Next, he moved to Villa 3.
Still no survivors, nor any zombies.
He checked Villa 4.
Again, completely empty of both zombies and living souls.
However, as he made his way toward Villa 5, he encountered two zombies wandering the path.
Without hesitation, Liu Yang shot out ice needles to take them down cleanly.
He didn't want to engage in close combat right now and risk making noise that might draw more zombies over.
Villa 5 yielded no survivors either. He immediately proceeded to Villa 6.
The front door of Villa 6 was shut tight, clearly deadbolted from the inside.
That caught Liu Yang's attention. With a swift motion, he vaulted directly over the three-meter perimeter wall.
The moment his feet touched the courtyard ground, a thick stench of blood hit his nose.
It was the metallic scent of fresh human blood, entirely different from the foul decay of a zombie.
Liu Yang frowned.
Were there zombies inside that had just killed a human?
He crept further into the house.
Before him lay the corpses of two zombies, a male and a female.
Their skulls had been crushed flat, clearly smashed in with a blunt instrument. The blood on their heads had long since dried, indicating they had been dead for days-likely dispatched right when the apocalypse broke out.
Liu Yang continued forward until he picked up rustling sounds coming from the kitchen. He slowly approached.
He peeked inside, and the sight instantly shocked him.
Two men were aggressively hacking at a woman's leg with a meat cleaver.
The woman was pinned to the floor, her hands and feet tightly bound. Blood pooled beneath her as she managed only weak, raspy cries for help.
Chopping off a living person's leg?
Such sheer cruelty managed to surprise even someone as cold-hearted as Liu Yang.
The woman violently shook her head, sobbing and pleading:
"Help! Help me! Don't kill me... ahhh! It hurts! My leg hurts so much! Stop! I've done everything you asked these past few days! Why are you doing this to me?!"
The two young men wore frantic, unhinged grins.
"Shut up! Just bear with it! Look at this leg-plenty of meat, long, straight, and smooth as silk! Fun to play with and good to eat!"
"You've been using us for days and draining our energy. Isn't it time you gave a little back?"
"Damn right! If we don't eat soon, we're going to starve! Since you're our woman, hand over your flesh!"
The man raved insanely before lifting the meat cleaver high and slamming it down.
"Crack!"
The blade finally severed the woman's leg completely.
Blood squirted meters into the air from the severed femoral artery.
"Ahhh!!" The woman let out a agonizing scream.
Liu Yang couldn't watch any longer. Gripping his fire axe, he stepped out and spoke to the two men:
"Hey, what do you think you're doing? Even if you plan on eating her, couldn't you kill her first? That's a bit too barbaric, don't you think?"
Startled by the voice, the two men whirled around in alarm, raising their guard as they stared at him.
One of them squinted. "You... when did you get in? Aren't you that campus gate security guard, Liu Yang?"
The other man bared his teeth menacingly. "Kid, I suggest you mind your own business and get the hell out of here before we take you down too! Don't think we'll go easy on you just because we go to the same school!"
"Oh? Take me down? You sound pretty tough," Liu Yang sneered, narrowing his eyes into cold slits. "I remember you two now. You're the rich second-generation kids from Class 3, Li Zihao and Zhou Zixuan, right?"
Li Zihao seemed to feel the killing intent radiating from Liu Yang, and his fierce expression instantly crumbled into terror.
Zhou Zixuan quickly tried to smooth things over. "Liu Yang, look, we're all alumni here. Classmates should stick together. How about we share a piece with you?"
As he spoke, he pointed toward the girl lying on the floor, clinging to her last breaths.
In his eyes, the girl who used to be his toy was now nothing more than food.
He had never considered these women real girlfriends anyway-just disposable playthings.
Originally, three men and three women had been holding a wild party in this villa.
When the apocalypse struck, one man and two women turned into zombies.
They had managed to beat the zombies to death, but running out of food and lacking the courage to scavenge outside, they eventually targeted the weakest woman among them.
Now that Liu Yang had caught them in the act, and seeing that threats hadn't backed him down, they offered to cut him in to get rid of the guard.
After all, they were weak from days of starvation.
Liu Yang, on the other hand, looked well-rested, vigorous, and strong. They knew that even working together, they were no match for him.